


Wait

by madders



Series: Out Of Gas AU [4]
Category: Firefly
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-11
Updated: 2012-07-11
Packaged: 2017-11-09 16:01:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/457328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madders/pseuds/madders
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Follows on from "Return"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wait

Jayne barely remembered getting from the bridge to the infirmary, it felt like a dream, or mebbe a nightmare was more like it. Cos in his dreams he never had to deal with Mal like this.

He’d settled him down on the operating table before being gently pushed away by Book so he could take a looksee.

Jayne stepped backwards until his back hit the counter and then he stopped, looking down at the blood on his hands.

It wasn’t like he’d never seen blood before. Hell, most times he was the one making it spill. And it weren’t like he’d never seen Mal bleed before neither. But this was different. This time Mal’d been stuck on his ownsome; and the blood was redder and more than Jayne had ever seen before.

He looked back down at his hands and clenched his fists. If he ever found the hundans that done this he’d show them what it was to feel hurt. He’d take them apart with his own two hands, real slow like too. Cos he knew a gunshot when he saw one, and weren’t no way that Mal’d done that hisself.

He shut his eyes against the brightness in the room, trying to shut out the image of Mal laying there and bleeding out on the table in front of him.

But the view behind his closed eyelids weren’t much better neither. All he could see there was Mal all laid out on the floor, looking deader than a barren moon. And that was what done him. In all the time he knew him, Jayne had never known Mal to be still and quiet like that. Even in his sleep he was movin’ about, ‘less Jayne wrapped hisself around him tight.

His eyes popped open as he felt gentle fingers on his hands, rubbing at the blood. He looked down at Kaylee’s small hands, before looking up at her face as he heard her sniffle as she tried to get the blood off with a piece of cloth.

He gently stopped her, pulling the cloth into his own hands and wiping the worst of the blood away before carefully pulling Kaylee close. She practically threw herself into his arms and let the sobs go; her tears quickly soaking Jayne’s t-shirt clean through.

Light footsteps announced Inara’s return, and she went directly over to Shepherd Book, who was doing his best to stop Mal bleeding. Resting his chin on the top of Kaylee’s head Jayne watched them work to save the man who meant so much to them all- even if most times none of them would ever admit it.

Book allowed Inara to hold the gauze down on Mal's wound so that he could move over to the counter near Jayne and Kaylee.

"Is he gonna be okay Shepherd?" Kaylee asked tearfully.

Book paused for a moment.

"I'm no doctor Kaylee, so nothing is certain right now." He replied.

"How long 'till they get back?" Jayne asked Inara.

"Another ten minutes or so." She replied.

At their surprised looks she elaborated.

"They were already on their way back." She shrugged, careful not to dislodge the gauze she was holding.

Jayne nodded, thinking. "Kaylee?" he spoke, giving her a gentle squeeze and turning her around. "I need you to go check the engines. Make sure we're ready to move, just in case whatever hundan did this comes back.”

Kaylee opened her mouth to argue, but Book rested a hand on her shoulder and made her pause.

“Jayne’s right Kaylee.” He admitted, sounding surprised at those words coming out of his mouth. “We need to make sure that Serenity is spaceworthy now, or at least able to get us to somewhere where we can make proper repairs. Otherwise we will still be in the same situation as we were before we left.”

“And you’re the only one who can fix her Kaylee.” Inara added. “I know you want to stay here with Mal, but what if Simon is in the middle of operating and the power goes again? We need you to make sure Serenity is okay, so that she can take care of us, of Mal.”

Kaylee sniffled a little before nodding.

“I can do that. Make sure Serenity takes care of us.”

“Thank you Kaylee.” Book smiled at her as she moved out of the infirmary. She stopped in the doorway and looked back at Mal, her face still pale. “You’ll let me know if anything happens right?” She pleaded.

“Of course.” Book agreed with a gentle smile.

Kaylee nodded once and was gone.

Book turned to Jayne, expectantly.

"What else would you have us do?" He asked, allowing Jayne to make decisions. Jayne knew he were just trying to make him not think about Mal, but still he let him pull his thoughts elsewhere.

"You and 'Nara stay here and look after Mal. I need to check the rest of the ship, make sure there ain't no surprises anywhere." He told him, turning and leaving before the Preacher could respond.

Moving away from the infirmary, Jayne moved around the ship, checking half-heartedly for anything amiss along the way. He knew Mal had stopped whoever from getting further than the cargo bay, else whoever it was woulda still been there. What he had really needed was to get away from the infirmary, away from the blood, but no matter where he turned, he kept spying more. Taunting him with visions of Mal, hurt and alone.

He followed the trail, not realizing he was at the bridge till he was mostly there already. He stepped around the place where Mal had fallen and settled hisself in the pilot's chair, glancing at the dials and lights idly.

He shifted uncomfortably for a moment before reaching under his behind and pulling at whatever was there, finally getting hold of an old blanket.

Holding it in front of him, Jayne frowned and pulled it close, smelling Mal all over it. Without really thinking about it, Jayne wrapped the blanket around hisself, leaning back in the chair and relaxing, unknowingly mimicking Mal's own pose those few hours before, only difference this time was the salty trails slipping slowly and unnoticed out of Jayne's closed eyes.


End file.
